Asia poker with three hands per player and bonus payout

ABSTRACT

The standard game of Asia Poker is modified by dividing the seven cards dealt to each participant into three groups or hands rather than two, with the three groups containing four cards, two cards or one card, respectively. To win, a player must win on at least two of three hands, and because there are three hands rather than two, the number of tied hands or “pushes” is greatly reduced. Each player is also allowed to place a separate bonus wager that the cards of the hand of the player will include one hand of a posted table of payout hands. The payout hands for the separate bonus wager include at least a hand with a four of a kind and a three a kind. Following the step of dealing the cards, the game includes paying, according to predetermined odds, each player (i) who has placed a bonus wager and (ii) who has a hand including one of the payout hands.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No. 12/061,746, filed Apr. 3, 2008, which is a continuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No. 11/202,239, filed Aug. 12, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,297, issued Nov. 25, 2008, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the general field of games of chance and, more particularly, to improvements in the game of Asia Poker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The game of Asia Poker, often referred to as Pai Gow Poker, is gaining increased acceptance by casinos and other major gambling centers. In this game, a player is dealt seven cards which are arranged by the player to make two hands, viz., a two-card hand (low hand) and a five-card hand (high hand). The only requirement in forming the hands is that the low hand must be of a lower rank than the high hand. The ranking of the hands are the same as in traditional poker with the exception that the joker can be used to represent an ace or to represent one card of either a straight or a flush. Because of the use of a joker, five aces is the highest possible hand.

The game is started by each player placing a bet (“ante”). The dealer then deals seven cards to himself and each of six players. Usually, the dealer is a casino employee and the players compete against the casino by attempting to beat the dealer, although the dealer can be a customer as discussed below.

In playing the game, when the player forms his low hand and his high hand so that they are both respectively higher in rank than the low hand and the high hand of the dealer, the player is declared to be the winner and the dealer is a loser. Conversely, when the player forms his low hand and his high hand so that they are respectively lower in rank than the low hand and high hand of the dealer, the player is the loser and the dealer is the winner. The dealer wins all tied hands. Further, if the player wins one hand and the dealer wins the other hand, a “push” is declared and no one wins. If a player wins both hands, the bet made is matched, i.e., an even money bet is paid, less a commission of typically 5%.

As will be evident from the foregoing, no money exchanges hands, i.e., the bet is neither won or lost, when there is a push. It has been estimated that approximately forty percent of the outcomes in Pai Gow Poker are pushes. The occurrence of a push or tie obviously diminishes the excitement of a hand, and because there are so many pushes, Pai Gow Poker has limited appeal for many. Moreover, casinos and other gambling establishments prefer a game wherein there are more winning hands given that, in the long run, the casino will come out ahead because tie hands go to the casino, and the casino receives a commission in any event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally speaking, the standard game of Asia Poker is modified by dividing the seven cards dealt to each participant into three groups rather than two, with the three groups containing four cards, two cards and one card, respectively, and separate wagering by a player prior to the deal, is provided for with respect to particular hands or a particular result. The modified game involves up to six players and a dealer, wherein each player plays against the dealer, and uses a deck of cards including at least the 52 cards of a standard deck. The steps of the modified game (i.e., the method of playing the modified game of chance) include: placing an “ante” wager by each of the up to six players; dealing, by the dealer, a total of seven cards to the dealer and a total of seven cards to each of the up to six players; arranging of the cards, by the dealer and each player, into a low hand of one card, a medium hand of two cards and a high hand of four cards, wherein the medium hand must be higher in rank than the low hand and the high hand must be higher in rank than the medium hand, individually comparing each of the low, medium and high hands of each player with the low, medium and high hands of the dealer; determining a winner for the “ante” wager between each player and the dealer when at least two out of the three hands of one is of higher rank than the corresponding hands of the other; taking the “ante” wager of the player by the dealer when the dealer is determined to be the winner, and paying, by the dealer, the amount of the “ante” wager by a player to a player determined to be the winner.

In an important embodiment, in addition to an “ante” bet with respect to the basic game, a separate bonus payout is made to any player placing a bonus wager on a special “payout” hand (as defined below) and then receiving that hand.

According to one aspect of the invention, the method includes, in addition to the “ante” bet, the steps of: providing, prior to the step of dealing the cards, an opportunity for each player to place a bonus wager that the hand of the player will include one of a plurality of payout hands, said plurality of payout hands including at least a hand with a four of a kind and a three a kind; and following the step of dealing the cards, paying, according to predetermined odds, each player (i) who has placed a bonus wager and (ii) who has a hand including one of the payout hands.

In accordance with one implementation, the four of a kind is four eights. Additionally, the deck of cards may include at least one joker, and the three of a kind may include two aces and one joker.

Further, the predetermined odds for the hand with the four eights and the three of a kind may be 5000 to 1.

There may be a $50,000 maximum bonus payout per hand.

In accordance with another implementation, the plurality of payout hands for the bonus wager may additionally include a hand with a nine, an eight, a seven, a four, a three, a two, and one of a six and a five. Further, the predetermined odds for the hand with a nine, an eight, a seven, a four, a three, a two, and one of a six and a five maybe 10to 1.

Additionally, the plurality of payout hands for the bonus wager may further include at least one of:

-   -   a hand with four aces and a joker (“5 Aces”);     -   a hand with a royal flush (an ace, a king, a queen, a jack, and         a ten, all of the same suit);     -   a hand with a natural straight flush (five cards in sequence,         all of the same suit);     -   a hand with a straight flush with a joker (four cards in         sequence, all of the same suit, and a joker);     -   a hand with a four of a kind (four cards of the same rank);     -   a hand with a full house (three matching cards of one rank and         two matching cards of another rank);     -   a hand with a flush (five cards of the same suit, not in rank         sequence);     -   a hand with a three of a kind (three cards of the same rank);         and     -   a hand with a straight (five cards of sequential rank, but in         more than one suit).

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in, or apparent from, the detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The single FIGURE in the drawings is a top plan view of a playing table in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As discussed above, the game of the present invention is similar to the basic game of Asia Poker but in accordance with an important feature thereof, instead of dividing the seven cards dealt to each of the seven players (in a casino setting, a dealer deals to six players) into two groups of five and two, the cards are divided into three groups of four, two and one. The groups are designated as low, medium and high hands and, in accordance with one preferred embodiment, when the cards dealt to a player are divided into the three groups, the medium (two-card) hand must be higher than the low (one-card) hand and high hand must be higher than the medium hand.

As indicated above, in order to beat the dealer, a player must win on two out of three hands. Because there are three possibilities of winning and winning two out of three beats the dealer, there are substantially no “pushes,” i.e., there are no overall hands wherein the player ties with the dealer. This substantially eliminates this unattractive feature of standard Asia Poker wherein, as discussed above, there are only two groups and thus may ties between a dealer and player.

In a preferred embodiment, in accordance with the standard rules of Asia Poker, all ties (“copy hands”) go to the dealer, i.e., the dealer wins all hands of the three hands wherein the hands of the dealer and player are of an equivalent value. In this embodiment, all overall pushes are eliminated.

In one embodiment, a joker is not used as in conventional Asia Poker so that a standard fifty-two card can be used, although, of course, in other embodiments, one, or even more than one, joker can be used, as desired.

The highest winning hand for the low hand (one card) is an ace while a deuce is the lowest and the person having the highest card wins.

The highest winning hand for the medium hand is a pair of aces. A pair beats a non-pair and if there are no pairs, the highest card wins.

With respect to the high hand (four card) rankings, the following rankings are preferably used:

1. Four Aces;

2. Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J of the same suit;

3. Straight flush: four cards in consecutive rank of the same suit. The highest ranking straight flush is A, 2, 3, 4 of the same suit. The second highest is K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit;

4. Four of a kind;

5. Flush: four cards of the same suit, regardless of rank. The highest ranking card will determine the highest flush.;

6. Straight: four cards in a consecutive run, regardless of suit. The highest ranking card will determine the highest straight. A, K, Q, J is the highest ranking straight. A, 2, 3, 4 is the second highest straight. 5, 4, 3, 2 is the lowest straight;

7. Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit. Three aces is the highest ranking three of a kind. Three twos is the lowest ranking three of a kind.

8. Two pairs: two pairs contained in the same hand. Two aces and two kings is the highest ranking hand. Two threes and two twos is the lowest ranking hand.

9. One pair: two aces is the highest ranking pair. Two twos is the lowest ranking pair.

10. No pair: when none of the poker hands listed above are formed by any of the four card hands, the highest ranking single card will determine the winner. Further, if no player even has a pair, and when comparing the hands of a player and the dealer, the highest ranking card is identical of a player and the dealer, the next highest ranking card will determine the winner. In one preferred embodiment, if every card in the hands being compared is identical, this is all “copy” hand and the bank or dealer wins all copy hands.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the object of the game is to beat at least two hands out of three hands (either high, medium or low) held by the banker or dealer. It will be understood that the banker or dealer can be, for example, a casino dealer or a player/customer at the table, as discussed below. As indicated above, in a preferred embodiment, the game is played with a traditional deck of 52 playing cards. Each player and the dealer receives seven cards, together and face down. Each player will then form three hands, face down. Conveniently, in playing the game, the three hands are arranged in a column in front of the player, with the single card hand at the front and the four card hand at the back. As stated, one hand, the high hand or back hand, will have four cards, a second, the medium or middle hand, will have two cards, and the low hand or front hand will have one card. Once all of the players have formed their three hands, face down, the dealer will form his three hands, face up and proceed to “open” (turn over, face up) the player hands, one player-by-one player, determining a winner before moving to the next player. Preferably, the house handles all bets and charges a 5% commission on all winning wagers.

Hands are ranked as traditional poker hands with the possible exceptions discussed above and a player wins when two player hands are higher than those of the dealer. The player loses when two player hands out of there are lower than those of the dealer.

As indicated above, for medium (two-card) hands, the highest hand is a pair of aces and the lowest hand is 2, 3 while for low (one-card) hands, the highest hand is an ace and the lowest hand is a two.

One of the interesting aspects of conventional Asia Poker is the opportunity for a player/customer to bank the game. The dealer, i.e., the dealer for the house, may offer the bank to a player only after the dealer has acted as the banker to begin the round of play. Each player at the table shall have the option to either be the bank or pass the bank to the next player. The dealer shall, starting with the player farthest to the right of the dealer, offer the bank to each player in a counterclockwise rotation around the table until a player accepts the bank. The dealer shall place a token or the like in front of the player who accepts the bank. The banking option shall rotate in a counterclockwise direction around the table until it returns to the dealer. In conventional Asia Poker, a player may never bank two consecutive rounds of play and may only wager one position when banking the game.

Before a player/customer may be permitted to bank a round of play, the dealer shall first determine that: the player placed a wager against the dealer, when the dealer was the bank; and the player has sufficient gaming chips on the table to cover all of the wagers placed by the other players at the table for that round of play. If the player does not have chips enough, cash shall be changed at that time and the chips placed in front of the banking player, but not on the betting area.

As indicated above, one important aspect of the invention concerns the provision of separate bonus wagering or betting on the hand being played. This feature enhances interest and excitement by, inter alia, giving the player additional betting opportunities and enables the player to potentially receive a large payout on a single hand at odds much higher than the fixed 1-to-1 payout of the base game. The bonus wager gives the game more “depth of play” and “completes” the game as it offers player the full gaming experience and a bonus wager where they can wager a small amount of money, without much risk, and have a chance at winning higher amounts of money. In one preferred embodiment, each player has the option of placing an additional bonus wager. As indicated above, the additional bonus wager is independent of, i.e., separate from, the basic wager on the base game. In this regard, a wager must always be placed on the base game. The wager on the base game is referred herein to as the “ante” wager. The “ante” wager must always be at or above a minimum wager for the table (the “table minimum”). One, both or no bonus wagers can be made in addition to the “ante” wager. A bonus wagers can be made in varying denominations. In no event, however, can the sum of all wagers (i.e., ante and bonus) be above a maximum wager for the table (the “table maximum”).

The single FIGURE in the drawings shows an exemplary bonus Asia Poker table 10 having a dealer position 12 and six player positions 14 a-14 f. “Ante” wager betting areas 16 a-16 f are marked at each of the player positions 14 a-14 f. Bonus wager betting areas 18 a-18 f are marked immediately above and to the right of the “ante” wager betting areas 16 a-16 f, as viewed by each player.

The bonus wager is based on the player's seven cards as measured against a posted payout table. In other words, the bonus wager wins if cards of the player's seven card hand include one of the posted payout hands. A winning hand will be paid based on the odds listed with the posted payout hands.

An exemplary payout table is shown below as Table 1.

TABLE 1 Hand Type A B C D 8888 + Any 3 of a Kind 5000 5000 5000 5000 5 Aces 800 800 800 800 Royal Flush 200 200 200 150 Natural Straight Flush 80 50 50 50 Straight Flush with Joker 40 40 40 40 Four of a Kind 30 30 25 25 Full House 5 5 5 5 Flush 4 4 4 4 Three of a Kind 3 3 3 3 Straight 2 2 2 2 9-High 10 10 10 10

The columns A-D of Table 1 show different “odds” that provide differing “house edge” percentages. All payouts are “to 1.”

Although the hands are believed to be largely self-explanatory, it is noted that in the first payout, the cards are arranged in groups of a single card, a pair of the same card as the single card, and four eights. Although eights are preferred, it is, of course, possible to designate another card, e.g., king, as the card of the four card group. Additionally, in the exemplary embodiment, the 8888+Any 3 of a Kind hand includes two aces plus a joker, but a joker may only be used as an ace for this bonus hand. The “9-High” bonus hand rewards players at the game for having two of the lowest hands possible (i.e., 9876432 or 9875432) which adds a unique twist to a normally instant losing hand. The Royal Flush, Natural Straight Flush, Straight Flush with Joker, Full House, Flush, and Straight of the exemplary payout table are five-card hands for the purposes of the bonus wager.

Preferably, the bonus wager offers all of the payout hands listed in Table 1 but it is, of course, possible to offer less than all of the listed payout hands. Also, preferably, there is a $50,000 maximum bonus payout per hand.

According to the preferred embodiment, after settling a player's “ante” wager, the dealer shall settle any bonus wager made by each player. A winning bonus wager shall be paid without regard to the outcome of the “ante” wager made by the player.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected in these preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A method of playing a game of chance involving up to six players and a dealer, wherein each player plays against the dealer, and using a deck of cards including at least the 52 cards of a standard deck, said method comprising: placing an “ante” wager by each of the up to six players; dealing, by the dealer, a total of seven cards to the dealer and a total of seven cards to each of the up to six players; arranging of the cards, by the dealer and each player, into a low hand of one card, a medium hand of two cards and a high hand of four cards, wherein the medium hand must be higher in rank than the low hand and the high hand must be higher in rank than the medium hand, individually comparing each of the low, medium and high hands of each player with the low, medium and high hands of the dealer; determining a winner for the “ante” wager between each player and the dealer when at least two out of the three hands of one is of higher rank than the corresponding hands of the other; taking the “ante” wager of the player by the dealer when the dealer is determined to be the winner, and paying, by the dealer, the amount of the “ante” wager by a player to a player determined to be the winner; providing, prior to the step of dealing the cards, an opportunity for each player to place a bonus wager that the hand of the player will include one of a plurality of payout hands, said plurality of payout hands including at least a hand with a four of a kind and a three a kind; and following the step of dealing the cards, paying, according to predetermined odds, each player (i) who has placed a bonus wager and (ii) who has a hand including one of the payout hands.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the four of a kind of the payout hand with the four of a kind and the three of a kind is four eights.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the deck of cards includes at least one joker, and wherein the three of a kind of the payout hand with the four eights and the three of a kind includes two aces and a joker.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined odds for the hand with the four eights and the three of a kind are 5000 to
 1. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein there is a $50,000 maximum bonus payout per hand.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of payout hands include a hand with a nine, an eight, a seven, a four, a three, a two, and one of a six and a five.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined odds for the hand with a nine, an eight, a seven, a four, a three, a two, and one of a six and a five are 10 to
 1. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of payout hands further include at least one of: a hand with four aces and a joker; a hand with a royal flush; a hand with a natural straight flush; a hand with a straight flush with a joker; a hand with a four of a kind; a hand with a full house; a hand with a flush; a hand with a three of a kind; and a hand with a straight. 